You know, Fuzzy, I think this is a very profound question you are asking. Why is it that some of us, in spite of the constant pain, just keep plugging along somehow? I certainly have no answers as to the "why" of things; it just seems that the desire to live, the life force, is very strong. VERY strong, despite all the obstacles. And when you consider that the whole business is by its nature temporary, that there was a beginning and there will be an end, according to the dictates of Mother Nature, that too puts a certain perspective on it.

I feel that my own life has been a trajectory, a learning experience, though I can't say why it should be that way if I'm eventually just going to fade away.

In any case, my deepest sympathy for the loss of your friend. Mean, unfeeling words and unkind actions can make it so awfully hard for a sensitive person to live.